Last year, Spalding beat out teen heartthrob Justin Bieber for the best new artist Grammy. All of a sudden many became aware of Spalding.

Born in Portland in 1984, Spalding made the switch from violin to bass, upright and electric, when she was a kid. By the time she was 16, Spalding was gigging steadily. By the time she was 20, she was teaching at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Spalding has collaborated with musicians such as Joe Lovano, Christian Scott, M. Ward, Pat Metheny, Nicholas Payton and Lionel Loueke.

Spalding now splits her time between Brooklyn and Austin. She's touring with a hit CD, “Radio Music Society” (Concord Music Group), and an 11-piece band. The tour will stop Saturday in Lila Cockrell Theater as part of the Carver's The Cavalcade of the Stars.

With her ultra-full head of hair, winning personality and jazz repertoire that's wide, deep and accessible, it's almost impossible to dislike Esperanza Spalding. But the young woman also has no shortage of well-honed chops.

“When I was about 16, I was living in an apartment, going to school and working at a market research firm while I was playing gigs on the side,” Spalding said. “I was missing more and more days of work to play gigs. My boss was a cool guy. He told me I needed to focus. So I didn't have an ‘aha! moment,' but I had a pragmatic moment.”

While it seems as if Spalding were an overnight success, she put in plenty of work.

“I was making $50 here, $100 there, but that sort of lifelong commitment came through in the Berklee years,” she said. “I went off to make a record for a label in Spain. There's an evolution. The glamour comes in because of being able to devote yourself to things that give you fulfillment, not just things that bring you money.”

On stage, and on albums including “Junjo,” recorded in Spain, “Esperanza,” “Chamber Music Society” and “Radio Music Society,” Spalding's joy at making music is infectious.

“I love the act of participating in music,” she said. “Even if there's a gig you're not crazy about, you can always take away something positive. You're doing something that's good for your soul.”

Spalding's work is dominated by her compositions.

“When I'm working on something specifically, I write every day,” she said. “I'm very lucky I have the space. I do a lot of work on airplanes. If I have the time, I work on composing every day. I heard this from someone else, but it's true: ‘I only work when the muse strikes, but she shows up every day at 9 a.m.' I don't really think about covers. I'm not looking for covers, but now and then there'll be a melody or a harmony that interests me that'll I'll learn for enjoyment ... but I can't emulate what someone else does.”